Eldar Lexicon
runes that make up the written form of the Aeldari Lexicon.]] The Eldar Lexicon, also called the Aeldari Lexicon, is the name given by Imperial scholars to the spoken and written language of the Aeldari species. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible for an outsider, particularly humans, to understand anything but the most basic formulations of the Aeldari Lexicon, as many of its references are metaphors that draw directly upon the collective Aeldari psyche, incorporating mythical peoples and places and long-lost times and events in its basic structure. The Aeldari also communicate with poses and gestures because their senses are far more finely attuned to others' emotional and mental states as a result of their intensely psychic natures than the average human; it is possible for two Aeldari to have an entire conversation using only their body language. The Aeldari written language is equally complex. Each written symbol, whether it is a rune, script or a hierogram, is not simply the letter of an alphabet like the written High or Low Gothic language used in the Imperium of Man. Instead, each Aeldari symbol represents an entire concept. Furthermore, even more difficult to comprehend from the human perspective is that many of these symbolic concepts can have a subtly different meaning when committed to usage in Aeldari script, another when employed in the rune-casting prognostications of the Farseers and yet another when incorporated into the hierograms of the Aeldari houses and design schools. Lexicon runes.]] Ultimately, the language of the Aeldari is an ancient and complex dialect built upon and refined over many millions of Terran years. Compared to the crude, blunt sounds of High or Low Gothic, its words flow from one to the next, each sentence a complete idea as much as a collection of letters or numbers. Humans can imitate Aeldari speech to a certain degree, with sufficient training, but compared to a native speaker they are slow and halting at best. This is largely because, as noted above, the Aeldari language is not actually comprised of words alone like human languages, but also accompanied by a detailed set of poses and gestures. The way an Aeldari stands, the cast of his features or how he moves his hands can all change the meaning of words, sometimes dramatically. Further complicating matters is that each Aeldari word or symbol is as much a concept as it is a name for something. Thus while the Aeldari word for "rock" might mean rock, it might also be used to convey permanence or stability, or in a different context lack of life or thought. To a human, words gain meaning from their context and the words around them, while to an Aeldari the words themselves already possess infinite meaning, manipulated by a crooked finger or slight inflection when speaking. The Aeldari Lexicon is used by all of the different Aeldari factions, including the Craftworld Asuryani, the Exodites, the Harlequins and the Drukhari, though each faction may have different dialects or particular usages that differ from the others. The Aeldari Lexicon can differ from Craftworld to Craftworld, and most Aeldari can tell the origin of another member of their species simply by the differences in both their speech and body language. Transliterated Examples Sentences Terminology Trivia In keeping with the fey-inspired theme of the Aeldari as "space elves," the structure and pronunciation of the Aeldari Lexicon is heavily inspired by real-world Celtic tongues from the British Isles, particularly Welsh, Irish Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic. Sources *''Chaos Child'' (Novel) by Ian Watson, pp. 142-143, 159, 161 *''Codex: Craftworld'' (4th Edition) *''Codex: Craftworld Eldar'' (3rd Edition), pg. 3 *''Codex: Dark Eldar'' (3rd Edition), pg. 35 *''Codex: Dark Eldar'' (7th Edition), pp. 10-11, 19, 48 *''Codex: Eldar'' (3rd Edition), pp. 42-43, 49 *''Codex: Eldar'' (4th Edition), pg. 42 *''Codex: Eldar'' (6th Edition), pg. 37 *''Codex: Harlequins'' (7th Edition), pg. 14 *''Codex: Necrons'' (3rd Edition), pp. 28, 63 *''Codex: Titanicus'' (2nd Edition), pp. 38-39, 48 *''Farseer'' (Novel) by William King, pg. 134 *''Harlequin'' (Novel) by Ian Watson, pp. 131-132, 137, 231 *''Path of the Eldar'' (Omnibus Novel) by Gav Thorpe, "Dark Son" (Short Story) by Gav Thorpe, pg. 765 *''Rogue Trader: Koronus Bestiary'' (RPG), pg. 44 *''Shadow Point'' (Novel) by Gordon Rennie, pp. 42, 44, 49, 52, 53, 56, 219, 221, 244 *''Tales from the Dark Millennium'' (Anthology) edited by Christian Dunn and Marc Gascoigne, "Vindicare" (Short Story) by C.S. Goto, pg. 58 *''Warhammer 40,000: Compendium'' (1st Edition), pp. 185-187, 191-192 *''Warhammer 40,000: Wargear'' (2nd Edition), pp. 31, 53 *''Warrior Coven'' (Novel) by C.S. Goto, pg. 97 *''White Dwarf'' 127 (UK), pg. 25, 32, 191 *''White Dwarf Weekly'' 53 (2015), pg. 31 *Warhammer Community - Grim Dark Corners: The Fall of the Aeldari and the Birth of Slaanesh es:Lengua Eldar Category:E Category:Dark Eldar Category:Eldar Category:Harlequin Category:Languages